By Lynn H. Blackburn, @LynnHBlackburn

At the risk of sending you diving into that stash of dark chocolate you hid on January first, let me ask a question.

How did your plans for 2017 pan out?

Did you finish your novel? Land an agent? Sign a three-book deal?

If the answer is, “YES!” then allow me to offer my congratulations! But for many the answer is, “Well, you see, there was this thing, and then that thing, and everybody knows how tough publishing is . . .”

Indeed. It’s enough to make a writer wonder if it’s time to try basket weaving for fun and profit. Or maybe to start thinking, “I coulda been a contender . . . ”

Oh please.

Are you done wallowing? No? You have three more seconds.

Okay. You’re done.

My dad had a friend who put it this way, “I’d rather shoot for the stars and hit a stump than shoot for a stump and blow my big toe off.”

It’s time to shoot for the stars!

I know publishing is uncertain and there are 1,738 things that have to happen for your dream to come true. But the alternative is unacceptable. I’ll grant you that big toes aren’t required for writing, but why risk it? Aim high!

Do you long to write a book or devotional? Learn how to do it. Go to a conference. Put yourself in a position for amazing things to happen.

Do you have parts of several novels on your hard drive? Finish one! It may stink, but you’ll learn a lot and join the ranks of writers who didn’t get their first, second, or third book published. But they didn’t quit. They kept shooting for the stars. Sure, they annihilated a few stumps along the way, but they can still wear open-toed shoes!

My prayer for many years has been “Lord, this is what I desire. Please do it or something better.”

His “better” may look like a stump to me, and that’s okay. He’s God and last time I checked, He’s in charge of stars and stumps. He also has a habit of turning what looks like an earthly stump into a star-studded galaxy to brighten His kingdom.

You might think that kind of prayer is a bit audacious. I understand that.

But let me give you some context.

You see, the original version of this post was written for The Write Conversation in January 2012. (You can read it here). In 2012 I didn’t have an agent or a publishing contract and really couldn’t see how that would ever change.

In that same blog post, I included the following prayer. “Lord, I’d like to have a novel published in the next five years. In 2012, I want to finish a novella, another novel, and attend a conference. Please do it or something better.”

I didn’t finish the novella or the novel in 2012, but I did attend the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. And in 2017 (that would be five years later), my second book was published with Love Inspired Suspense and I signed a 3-book deal with Revell.

As I read that prayer now, all I can do is humbly thank God. He didn’t do everything I wanted, but He definitely did things better than I could have ever imagined.

So let me ask you this. What’s your big dream and your specific prayer for 2018?

Don’t be shy. Share it with us in the comments. Share it with your critique group or your writing buddy.

Shoot for the stars and don’t be surprised when God answers your prayers in ways that knock your socks off!

(BTW – My prayer came from a Bible study called One in a Million by Priscilla Shirer. An excellent study and one I found particularly applicable for those on the twisty road to publication.)

Grace and peace,

Lynn H. Blackburn believes in the power of stories, especially those that remind us that true love exists, a gift from the Truest Love. She’s passionate about CrossFit, coffee, and chocolate (don’t make her choose) and experimenting with recipes that feed both body and soul. She lives in South Carolina with her true love, Brian, and their three children. Her first book, Covert Justice, won the 2016 Selah Award for Mystery and Suspense and the 2016 Carol Award for Short Novel. Her second book, Hidden Legacy, released in June 2017 and her new Dive Team Investigations series kicks off in March of 2018 with Beneath the Surface. You can follow her real life happily ever after at www.LynnHBlackburn.com and on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.